Kazakhstan's chief banker quits contest for post of IMF chief

NEW YORK, June 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The head of the national bank of
Kazakhstan, Grigory Marchenko, has quit the contest for the position of
IMF managing director.
"We have held an active discussion, and for a variety of reasons I
made a decision not to run for the post," Marchenko told the CNN. He also
remarked that at this point it was more or less clear that the seat of the
IMF's managing director will go to France's Finance Minister Christine
Lagarde. Marchenko added that Lagarde was a very good candidate and there
were no doubts about that.
The process of nominating candidates for the post of the IMF's
managing director began on May 23 and it is to be completed by June 30. It
followed the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of a
rape attempt.